First published in 2021
This is a pacy history of China that will transform the way you see the world’s rising superpower.
China has given the world many things, from kung-fu to tofu, tea to trade routes, sages to silk. It has influenced cuisine, commerce, military strategy, aesthetics and philosophy across the world for thousands of years.
Chinese history is sprawling and gloriously messy. It is full of heroes who are also villains, prosperous ages and violent rebellions, cultural vibrancy and censorious impulses, rebels, loyalists, dissidents and wits. The story of women in China, from the earliest warriors to twentieth-century suffragettes, is rarely told. And historical spectres of corruption and disunity, which have brought down many a mighty ruling house, continue to haunt the People’s Republic today.
Modern China is seen variously as an economic powerhouse, an icon of urbanisation, a propaganda state or an aggressive superpower seeking world domination. Linda Jaivin distils a vast history into a short, readable account that tells you what you need to know, from China’s philosophical origins to its political system.
Praise for The Shortest History of China
Number 1 on Five Books Best China Books of 2021.
ABC Saturday Extra with Geraldine Doogue
The Pick: what to read, watch and listen to, recommendation from Bec Strating, Executive Director of La Trobe Asia